Seed-dropper



(No Model.)

' r T 2 Sh'eets--Shee't 1. A. H. WIEDHOPFT,

SEED DROPPER.

Patented Nov. 2-, 1886.

N. PETERS. Pholwmmgnpher. Wmhinglnn. D. c.

UNITED S ATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED H. WIEDHOFFT, LAKE. VIEW, ILLINOIS.

SEED-DROPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LetteraPatent No. 351,950, dated November 2, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

. Beit known that I, ALFRED H. WIEDHOFFT, residing at the town of Lake View, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented g certain new and useful Improvements in Seed- Droppers, of which the following, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a speci fi,

proved means for regulating the distancebe tween the rows of seedto be planted, all of which will hereinafter be more fully explained,

. and set forth in my claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of a seedzdropper as is necessary to be shown for the proper illustration of my invention. Fig. 2 is a top View of the prin cipal parts of the same. of the parts operating to reciprocate the seedslide. Fig. 4 is a detail, the same being a front view of the gravitating plate or loaded or Weighted finger and its engaging-wheel, formingapart of the slide-moving mechanism.

of Fig. 4, viewedin the direction indicated by thearrow there shown. Fig. 6 is a detail, the

same representing a portionof the inner faceof the expansible and contractible wheel; and Fig. 7 is a section in the plane of the line a a: of Fig. 6, viewed in the direction indicated by the arrow there shown.

' Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

A represents the frame of the machine. 4 B is the land-wheel applied to an axle, C, which turns at one end in bearings'orin a box a, applied to the frame A. D D are the seed-boxes, and E is the seedslide. r F F are the seed-tubes. v G G are the runners. All ofthe parts now referred to are old and well known, and their construction and operation are familiar to those acquainted with machines of this class. I have not, therefore,

.Application filed May 17, 1886.

. that my improvement may be applied with ad- 'vantage to seed droppers constructed differ- Fig. 3 is a front. View Fig. 5 is a section in the plane of the line a: a"

Serial No. 202,403. (No model.)

here aimed to describe these parts with par.- ticularity, but have merely shown a form of construction which I deem will be-suited to my improvements. I desire to state,however,

ently from the particular example I have shown, sofar as relates to the parts already described.

H is a drive-wheel, which is expansible in the direction of its perimeter and rigidly applied either to the wheel B or to the axle C. To render this rigid attachment to the axle capable of being made with facility, I make a circular jflange, a, onthe said axle, and I pass bolts a a through the wheel Hand through the said collar, holes being made for that purpose at the proper place, and on the screw-threaded ends'of these bolts I run nuts a 01/, thus clamping the parts firmly together, so that the said wheel and shalt will be rotated together. The means employed for connecting these parts rigidly together is not, however, an essential feature of my invention, as this rigid connection may be made in any well-known or suitable way. In the wheel H, I make radial slots 12 b. The outer face of the wheel H is by preference beveled near its pcrimeter, as is clearly indicated at c, in Fig. 7.

H H are plates having radial lateral edges, and the upper parts of which are outwardly bent or flaring, as shown at d. Iapply a series of these plates. to the wheel H by means of bolts 0 e, (passingthrough the said plates and through the slots b 1),) and nuts 0 6 run upon the said bolts. The plates H H are thus made radially adjustable and a grooved perimeter is formed, the diameter of whichmay be either increasedor diminished by adj usting the plates H H a greater or less distancefrom the center of the wheel H. i

K. The wheel K may be made vertically adjustable in any suitable or well-known way. loo

In the example shown 9 is a plate depending from the axleg of the wheel K, and this plate has therein a slot, h. A fixed plate, 9, is attached to the frame A, and has thereon ribs or flanges i 1', between which the plate 5/ moves, the said flanges serving as guides therefor. A fixed serew-pin,j, projects outwardly from the plate 9, and k is a nut run upon the screwthreaded part of the said pin. By loosening this nut the wheel K may be either raised or lowered, and it will be held or clamped in the position in which it may be set by tightening the said nut. The function of the wheel K is to preserve the proper tension of the belt J, it being understood that its tension or slack is varied as the position of the plates H H is varied, or as the said plates are set either more or less distant from the center of the wheel H. It will now be perceived that the wheel I may be rotated with more or less speed in comparison to the speed of the rotation of the wheel H by either expanding or'contracting the latter wheel in the manner now described,and hence that the seed may be dropped with greateror less frequency, orin rows more or less apart, as may be desired. This space, therefore, as will now be perceived, may be regulated by means of the expansible and contraetible wheel H.

L is a gravitating or weighted plate hung loosely or freely on the shaft I, and having .thereon a pin or finger, L, and an outwardly projecting lug, f, adapted to enter the depressions or sockets ff in the wheel I. The plate L, as will be observed, is arranged next to the inner face of the wheel I, and is capable of sliding from the said wheel to a sufficient extent to permit the lugf to be drawn out from the socketf, in which it may be engaging. It is to be understood that, while the said lug projects into any one of the said sockets the said wheel and plate are in engagement and are rotated together for that reason.

L is a hub on the plate L, and Z is a groove in the said hub.

M is a sliding bar clasped to the axle-extension I, and having its outer end bent to enter the groove Z.

N is a vibrating arm pivoted at its lower end to the frame A, and weighted at its upper end, as indicated in Fig. 3.

O is a link or pitman connecting the slide M and arm N, being pivoted or jointed at its ends to the said slide and arm, respectively. By tilting the arm N toward the wheel I the plate L will be pushed into engagement with that wheel, the link 0 acting on the slide M and the latter on the hub L, so as to produce that result. By tilting the arm N in the opposite direction the partLwill be drawn from its engagement with the wheel I. The arm N being weighted, as described, will retain it under ordinary circumstances in either inclined position in which it may be set; but its position may be reversed with facility, as may be desired.

I is a pin or small shaft, turning in bearings n n on the extension I.

Qis an arm or lever rigidly attached at one end to the shaft P.

Q is also an arm or lever rigidly attached to the said shaft, and arranged at an angle to the arm Q.

R is a finger-knuckle, jointed to the outer end of the arm Q in such a manner as to form a straight extension thereof, but also so as to be capable of being folded yieldingly only in the direction of the wheel K, any spring being employed to return the said finger to its original position after it has been pushed in the said direction and released.

S is an arm pivoted at one end to the arm Q, and at the other to the slide E, and T is a close spring, connected to the arm S and to a fixed pin, 0. As the wheel I is rotated while in engagement with the plate L, the finger or pin L strikes the finger R in such a manner as to move the lever Q in a forward direction or toward the front of the machine, thus throwing the arm or lever Q out laterally and moving the slide E in the same direction, owing to the connection of that slide with the arm Q by means of the arm S. After the finger L has slipped past the finger R, the spring T returns the slide E to its original position, and this movement of the said slide results in the finger R also being returned to its original position,as will now be observed especially on reference to Fig. 2. The slide E is thus reciprocated so that the seed will be dropped at the proper times.

I desire to call attention to the fact that the plate L is so formed that it serves as a weight to the finger L, always bringing that finger directly over the shaft I whenever thesaid plate is disengaged from the wheel I. It will therefore make no difference what particular depression f is directly under the shaft 1 when the plate L is pushed toward the wheel I, for the engagement of the said wheel and plate will occur while the said finger stands vertically, or nearly so, which is its proper position when engagement occurs. It is to be understood, of course, that the seed-slide is not reciprocated when this engagement does not exist. Vhen the wheel I is rotated in such a direction as to cause the finger L to strike the forward side of the finger It, the latter will yield or be folded in such a manner that the lever Q will not be actuated. The seed-slide will not, therefore, then be moved.

The object of the jointed finger R is to prevent the seed from being dropped and the parts from becoming disarranged when it becomes desirable to back the machine while in gear; and the function of the weight or counterpoise upon the plate L is to cause the tripping-finger L to automatically assume a vertical or other .fixed normal position with relation to the arm Q, when thrown out of gear or disengaged from contact with the wheel I, thus enabling the operator to know that, when in starting at 351,950 Y A r s the end ofa row, ifhis machine is in align,- ment with the cross'rows, the finger L will,

upon throwing the machine into gear, engage claim as new, and desire to secure by. Letters Patent, is

I. The combination, in a seeddropper, of an expansibly adjustable and detachable drivewheelwith a seed-slide and a gravityclutch member, having a tripping-finger for actuating said seed-slide, and a pulley connected with and propelled by said drive-wheel and forming a counterpart of said clutch,whereby said tripping-finger may be caused to assume a given normal position with relation to the working parts of the machine when said clutch members are disengaged, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. I

2. In combination with the seed droppin mechanism of a corn-planter, the gravity-clutch member L, arranged to assume a vertical position when said clutch is released, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A seeddropper in which the drive-wheel and seed-slide are in combination with an adjustable counterbalanced finger or trip device, substantially as and for the purposes specified. 30

4. The combination, in a seed-dropper, of the counterbalanced laterally-adjustable plate L, having thereon a finger, L, and a lug, f, the wheel or pulley I, having therein a series of depressions, ff, the shaft 1, and a pivoted 35 lever in operative connection with the seed- .slide, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. The combination, in a seed-dropper, of the wheel or pulley. I, having therein a series 0 of depressions, ff, the plate L, having thereon a finger, L, a lug, f, and a grooved hub, the shaft 1', passing freely through the said wheel and plate, a slide engaging the said hub and in connection with an operative lever, the shaft I, the lever Q QR, the arm S, the spring T, and the slide E, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

f In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I hereby affix my signature in pres- 5o ence of two witnesses.

ALFRED H. WIEDHOFFT. 

